Showing posts with label Darfur Bar Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darfur Bar Association. Show all posts

Sunday, June 25, 2023

DBA urges members leave Geneina, W Darfur Sudan

Report at Darfur24.com
Published Sunday 18 June 2023, 8:08 pm - here is a full copy:

DBA urges its affiliates to leave El-geneina as security situation worsens

 

El-geneina, June 18 (Darfur 24) - The Darfur Bar Association DBA urged its members Sunday to evacuate El-geneina, the provincial capital of west Darfur state .


The Khartoum based association announced Saturday it had received information that its former Chief who resides in El-Geneina had been killed.


In a statement seen by Darfur 24, DBA said its former boss and founder in West Darfur was killed.


The association which advocates and defends human rights in the volatile region of Darfur, referred Sunday to a systematic targeting against community leaders in West Darfur state, mainly, family members and relatives of the Sultan, saying that Prince Badawi Masri, cousin of the Sultan of Masalit was assassinated Saturday as well as the Sultan’s cousin.


Darfur24 correspondent in El-Geneina said 3 mayors a number of doctors, including Dean of the faculty of medicine at El-geneina university were killed as well as three lawyers and many civil service employees in the city of El-geneina.


View original: https://www.darfur24.com/en/2023/06/18/dba-urges-its-affiliates-to-leave-el-geneina-as-security-situation-worsens/


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Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Sudan crisis: Zalingei, Central Darfur no telecoms. Heavy fighting by SAF and RSF in El Fasher, N. Darfur

Zalingei witnessed RSF/SAF battles on 15 April, 23 killed, 80 wounded, widespread looting, before local leaders organized a truce. But on 22 May, Zalingei Resistace Committee reported that RSF-backed militias attacked on 400 motorbikes and looted, burned hospital 

banks and govt offices. Motorbikes were banned before, because militias use them to loot and terrorize, but now they're back and people fear a collapse - like what's happening in #Geneina, W Darfur 

Central Darfur was at the heart of the 2003/04 Darfur war, has 400,000 #displaced in 36 camps. But civil politics go on - conflicts are controlled by political/security class, and local people don't engage in 'ethnic' conflict. Few have joined RSF or SAF 

giving cause for hope that the breakdown in Geneina - pitting RSF-backed militias against displaced people in bitter battles over land under threat from climate catastrophe - won't happen in Zalingei 

But #agriculture is at risk: rainy season begins in June, farmers get no harvest finance, they must sell crops or trade just now to finance harvest, but looting/slump means that they will struggle to bear harvest costs, threatening famine 

Zalingei people caught outside Khartoum are beside themselves with worry. 


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Report at Radio Dabanga
Dated Wednesday 24 May 2023 - excerpt:
Humanitarian crisis in Darfur increases as attacks rattle Zalingei

Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, witnessed various attacks in the past days, the Darfur Bar Association (DBA) reported. In the South Darfur capital Nyala, fighting left multiple dead. Several bodies were found in the market. Communication breakdowns limit access to detailed information.

The DBA said in a statement yesterday that Zalingei witnessed attacks during the past few days, and that no detailed information was available due to the weak communication services.

Sources from the area reported that “armed men” launched attacks on Zalingei on Tuesday, resulting in four deaths and the abduction of four others. The situation seems to have calmed for now, but the aftermath is dire.

Inside the city, families are facing a catastrophic situation, with severe shortages of food and medicine.

Homes, offices, and the University of Zalingei have been looted. The Zalingei Teaching Hospital is said to be out of service.

Yesterday, members of resistance committees in Zalingei reported that paramilitaries of the RSF surrounded the city, raising fears of imminent attacks.

Violence in Nyala

The DBA reported that in Nyala, South Darfur, multiple bodies were found in the market, presumably caught in the crossfire last week. Authorities are working to identify the deceased and inform their relatives.

Vandalism have ravaged vital infrastructure, including that of telecommunications provider Sudatel. This severed crucial connections between institutions and banks in Darfur and Chad.

Yesterday, Radio Dabanga reported heavy gunfire and shelling in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, in battles between the army and the RSF.

Full story: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/humanitarian-crisis-in-darfur-increases-as-attacks-rattle-zalingei

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Monday, June 27, 2022

Russian Wagner mercenaries in South Darfur, Sudan after attacks on gold miners

From: Radio Dabanga.org

Published Sunday 26 June 2022 

Darfur Bar Association: Russian Wagner mercenaries in South Darfur after attacks on gold miners

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) has confirmed the presence of Russian ‘Wagner’* mercenaries in South Darfur, which it claims to have documented ‘since last year’. The mercenaries are specifically accused of attacks on artisanal gold miners in Um Dafug locality, close to the border with the Central African Republic (CAR).

In a statement on Friday, the DBA says that it has documented pictures of mercenaries in cafes and in the streets and valleys of Um Dafug, and has heard testimony from relatives of people in South Darfur who were allegedly killed by Wagner mercenary elements in the border areas with CAR.

In its statement, the DBA places moral responsibility on “everyone involved in granting concessions to companies and the Rapid Support Forces for gold mining in the Sengo area in exchange for a share supplied by the Central Bank of Sudan” for “allowing companies to exploit the wealth of the area’s residents without their participation.”

The DBA cites as an example the exploitation of gold in the Sengo area “under the cover of obtaining the concession and supplying the state’s share to the Central Bank".

The RSF, commanded by Deputy Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, has long been associated with the control of gold mining in Darfur.

The RSF has built up a vast business empire that captures not only a large part of the country’s gold industry but also has huge interests in many sectors of the Sudanese economy. The anti-corruption NGO Global Witness published a report in 2019 about the financial networks behind the RSF.

According to political analyst Magdi El Gizouli, Hemeti’s visit to Russia in March this year was “arranged by the Russian Wagner mercenaries in order to find a way out for their ally in Sudan, and to ensure his continuation in power so that they can continue to plunder the country’s resources”.

The Sudanese Company for Mineral Resources announced last week that it provided the state treasury with more than 45 million dollars in ten days, an unprecedented amount. The company said in a press statement that it was able to procure roughly 100,200 kilograms of gold from the traditional stock exchange in the Gold Building in Khartoum.

Gold mining in Sudan

The current amount of gold prepared for export is unprecedentedly high as the company procured more gold in ten days than is usually exported by the country in one year.

At the moment, Sudan contributes roughly 90 tonnes of gold to the global market per year, making it the 10th largest gold producer in the world. Most of this gold is mined in the Hassai Gold Mine in Red Sea state, where iron ore and other base metals are also mined.

Gold can also be found in North and South KordofanDarfurNorthern SudanRiver Nile state, and other places along the Nile River and Blue Nile River. Other mineral reserves in the country include chromite, gypsum, phosphates, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, and cobalt.

Stiffer control

Gold export is important for Sudan’s economy. In an interview with Radio Dabanga’s Sudan Today programme, Professor of Economics at El Nilein University in Khartoum Dr Hasan Bashir explained that export volumes could have been 10 times the size of current exports and highlighted the continued smuggling of large quantities of gold from the country.

Sudan is the second largest gold producer in Africa. The production however is often driven by unregulated, artisanal (individual subsistence) mining, and routine gold smuggling across international borders is a constant problem. Estimates are that between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of Sudan’s gold is smuggled out of the country. It is also known that proceeds have been used to finance the internal conflict.

To combat this problem, the Central Bank of Sudan announced stiffer control measures in March this year.


* The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organisation, variously described as a private military company, a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

View the original here: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/the-darfur-bar-association-russian-wagner-mercenaries-in-south-darfur-after-attacks-on-gold-miners

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Sudan: Darfur lawyers say Musa Hilal's trial is invalid (Part 18)

‘All activities concerning the resisting and opposing the former regime are legitimate and do not constitute crimes’ –Darfur Bar Association

Article from and by Radio Dabanga.org
Dated Thursday 19 September 2019 - KHARTOUM / DARFUR
Darfur lawyers: ‘Hilal Court Martial invalid - resisting Al Bashkir regime is no crime'
Photo: Former Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal (File photo)

The Darfur Bar Association has described the trial by Court Martial of former Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal and his affiliates as invalid and has no legal ground because the alleged crimes relate to the resisting and opposing the former regime, which are legitimate activities that cannot constitute crimes.

Yesterday, a statement issued by the Darfur Bar Association stated that the trial of Musa Hilal and his affiliates for crimes related to the opposing or resisting the former regime confirms the continuation of the policies of the former regime and its organs, which contradicts the goals of the revolution. Thus it is an insult to the role of the Forces for Freedom and Change and the newly formed government. Further, the Bar Association stressed in its statement that all activities concerning the resisting and opposing the former regime are legitimate and do not constitute crimes.

The military court on Monday [16 Sep] prevented four lawyers assigned by Hilal’s family to defend him, from attending the session held at the general army command in Khartoum.

The trial of Musa Hilal, the leader of Mahamid and the head of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, which was postponed twice in this month, is due to resume on Monday [23 Sep].

The adjourned court sessions were accompanied by demonstrations demanding his release in front of the Military Headquarter in Khartoum and other cities in Darfur, including Mystria, Ed Daein, Zalinge,i and El Geneina.

Crowds gathered on Sunday in front of the army command, as well as in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.

2017 arrest
Hilal was arrested in a raid on his stronghold in Misteriya, North Darfur, in November 2017. His sons, brothers, and entourage were detained as well, in addition to some 2,000 members of his clan.


In July last year, the NISS arrested Hilal’s hearing-impaired son, Ahmed Musa. The next month, several ‘associates of Hilal’ were arrested from a house at Gurrat El Zawiya area in North Darfur.

Atrocities in Darfur
Hilal is held responsible for the atrocities committed in Darfur against civilians after the conflict erupted in 2003. In that year, he was released from prison by the Sudanese government with the purpose to mobilise Darfuri Arab herders to fight the insurgency in the region.

With full government backing, Hilal’s militiamen (janjaweed) targeted villages of African Darfuris. They rarely came near forces of the armed rebel movements.

View original: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-lawyers-hilal-court-martial-invalid-resisting-al-bashir-regime-is-no-crime

Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Sudan: ICC 'seeks to have Bashir handed over'

  • Mr Fadi El Abdallah, an International Criminal Court (ICC) spokesperson, told Middle East Eye (MEE) that the arrest warrants against Sudan's former president, Omar Al-Bashir, remained valid
  • "The two arrest warrants delivered by the ICC judges for Mr al-Bashir remain valid," he said
  • "The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council"
  • Sources tell MEE that the Hague-based court will petition Khartoum's new government to hand over longtime autocrat
  • Legal expert Mohamed Omer Shomena told MEE that the new council was aiming to hand over Bashir if asked by the ICC
  • The Alliance of Sudanese Lawyers has vowed to collect and submit hundreds of cases against Bashir

Article from Middle East Eye.net
By MOHAMMED AMIN in Khartoum
Dated Monday 02 September 2019 14:12 UTC 
Sudan: ICC 'seeks to have Bashir handed over' as Khartoum trial opens old wounds
Photo: Bashir admitted in court that he had received $25m from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, sent in cash on a private jet (Reuters)

The appearance of ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in court for the first time last month has encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as many Sudanese, to bring their own cases against the former leader, sources have told Middle East Eye.

MEE understands that the ICC is among several international institutions seeking justice for alleged crimes committed during Bashir's 30-year rule, with sources saying that the intergovernmental organisation is preparing to submit an official request to urge Sudan's new transitional government to hand over Bashir to the Hague-based court for alleged crimes in the Darfur region. 

Bashir is wanted by the ICC after it issued an arrest warrant against him in 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, rape and torture. In 2010, pre-trial judges issued a new warrant with additional charges, including genocide.

Sudan's former president was formally charged on Saturday with illicit possession of foreign currency and corruption, after being charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters during the demonstrations that led to his overthrow in April.

However, others affected argue that the current trial is merely a cosmetic exercise that seeks to brush over many of Bashir's alleged crimes. 

Lawyers and activists are preparing to lodge more serious charges, including the toppling of the democratically elected government in 1989, much larger cases of corruption, and the deaths of protesters on earlier occasions.

New ruling council
Sudan's new 11-member sovereign council, which was sworn in last month, is made up of military and civilian representatives.

The council will govern for the next three years and three months, ultimately paving the way for democratic elections.

Salih Mahmoud, a leading member of the Darfur Bar Association, told MEE that the ICC will ask the new cabinet to hand over Bashir to the court. 

Mahmoud, a legal expert and award-winning human rights activist, said that the new ruling council faced a critical decision as it was part of its responsibility to impose justice and to cooperate with the international community and the institutions of international justice. 

The Sudanese Military Council (TMC), which led the country from the ousting of Bashir in April until the formation of the new military-civilian sovereign council last month, repeatedly stressed it could not decide the fate of the president regarding the ICC arrest warrant against him.

The TMC generals argued that the possible handover of Bashir was something that should be determined after the end of a transitional period and the election of a new government after three years. 

“We have credible information that the ICC judges will urge the new regime of Sudan to hand over Bashir as soon as possible because it's now a democratic government and supposed to be committed to international laws," said Mahmoud.

'Arrest warrants remain valid'
Fadi El Abdallah, an ICC spokesperson, told MEE that the arrest warrants against Bashir remained valid.

"The two arrest warrants delivered by the ICC judges for Mr al-Bashir remain valid," he said. 

"The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council."

Abdallah also added that if the Sudanese government wanted Bashir to be tried in Sudan, it must demonstrate that a genuine national investigation and prosecution will be conducted, among other conditions.

Legal expert Mohamed Omer Shomena told MEE that the new council was aiming to hand over Bashir if asked by the ICC.

Shomena said that Bashir could be tried inside Sudan but that situation would require major reforms to the entire justice system following 30 years of corruption, interventions by the government, and the lack of any independence.

“I do believe that the Sudanese judges and courts are ethically and technically eligible to prosecute Bashir, but that also needs a huge reformation process to our judiciary system, as well as a lot of amendments and new laws to match the international laws and respect for human rights. 

“The objective of judicial reform in Sudan is very important not only for Bashir’s trial but also for the entire transitional justice, accountability and good governance in Sudan in the coming period, and this is the only way to achieve the goals of the revolution."

Hundreds of cases 
In the meantime, the Alliance of Sudanese Lawyers has vowed to collect and submit hundreds of cases against Bashir.

Those cases include alleged atrocities in war zones, the killing of protesters and other civilians, missing persons, and the thousands of people dismissed from their jobs for political reasons.

Wail Ali Saeed, a leading member of the Alliance of Sudanese Lawyers, told MEE that they had prepared dozens of cases against Bashir, especially from families of protesters killed during the September 2013 nationwide protests in which more than 170 people died, as well as the recent wave of protests from December 2018 to April 2019 that saw Bashir's overthrow. 

"We have done a lot of work and we have a lot of work still to be done... We have divided ourselves into groups to reach any Sudanese, or their relatives, that faced any kind of violations during Bashir's era," he said. 

"We have reached a lot of victims and families and we will continue gathering these cases as we will submit all of these cases to the court, especially after the appointment of the new independent general prosecutor and chief of justice in the country." 

Sulema Ishag, a leading member of an initiative by activists to seek justice for Sudanese victims, told MEE that they were coordinating with independent lawyers to gather evidence over the different kinds of violations, especially against women, in order to submit legal cases against Bashir.  

“We are a large number of activists who are worried about the achievement of justice for the victims in Sudan because we believe that justice is the first step for the stability of Sudan," said Ishag. 

Gulf money trail
Activists and lawyers have also highlighted the disclosure during last month's case of the receipt of money personally by Bashir from Saudi Arabia.

Bashir admitted in court that he had received $25m from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, sent in cash on a private jet.

The former president said he used the money for donations and not for his own benefit. 

Dismissing Bashir's claims, Saeed said that the case showed how Bashir and his assistants dealt with public money. 

An investigator had previously told the court that Bashir received a total of $90m in cash from Saudi royals.

Sudanese army and intelligence members who searched Bashir’s residence in April found around $7m of foreign currency.

Saeed said given the other figures involved, the $7m for which Bashir was being charged in the current case was insignificant.

“This court [case] is nothing actually... I do believe that the stealing of $7m is nothing and it's a shame on all of us if it's considered that this case is enough for the accountability of Bashir," he said. 

"The involvement of the ousted president with the Gulf in their competition for access, and his attempt to play off the different sides to get money to overcome his economic crisis, has caused a lot of corruption and mismanagement of the money and we will pick up this point from this court [case]."

Sudan swears in new Sovereign Council
Sudan's Bashir indicted as he admits to receiving millions from Saudi crown prince